


Strictly Business

by lowkeysalty



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, Mozara is mentioned bc my gay ass has to make everything about lesbians, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Team Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2021-01-26 10:48:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21372907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lowkeysalty/pseuds/lowkeysalty
Summary: Zane and Moze are forced to spend time together while Amara and Fl4k are off doing another mission
Relationships: Moze & Zane Flynt
Comments: 6
Kudos: 53





	Strictly Business

Zane and Moze sat in the back of a technical in the swamps of Eden 6, just outside the trail to Ambermire. The vault hunters were running a few errands for the people of Reliance before meeting up with Wainwright Jakobs to infiltrate his estate and get the last piece of the vault key. The operative and the gunner had already finished their mission to help some guy name Chadd perfect his parkour. Meanwhile, Fl4k and Amara were out collecting brown rocks for some guy whose Claplist request was answered seven years too late. Zane laid down on his side of the truck bed with an exaggerated groan. Moze tried to ignore him. She sat on the edge of her seat, her right leg nervously bouncing up and down. She kept glancing down the path, hoping Amara and Fl4k would return before Zane brought out his digi-clone to pester her like he did the last time they were paired up. 

"Could you knock that off?" Zane asked, sitting up. "Can't sleep when ye shake the whole truck like that." 

Moze's leg suddenly stopped. "Sorry. Can't help it." 

"Nervous or somethin'?" Zane asked. 

"More like impatient."

"You _really_ hate spendin' time with me, dontcha?" 

"I never said that."

"Didn't have to," Zane said, moving back up to the passenger bench on his side of the technical. "When we pair off like this ye always try to run off with Amara. And Fl4k's not much of a conversationalist so I suspect ye prefer their company to mine."

Moze rubbed the back of her neck. He wasn't entirely wrong. She very much did prefer Amara's sass and Fl4k's near silence to Zane's…. Quirks. She didn't hate him by any means, but he rarely, if ever, took anything seriously. Sure, crushing cultists and blasting bandits was fun and all, but to Zane it was all just a game. Or at least that's the impression he gave Moze. She decided to be honest with him, "I mean you're not wrong. I guess it's just that none of the stuff we've done has seemed serious to you. We're fighting a fucking war across multiple planets and you've just been cracking jokes the whole time."

Zane chuckled, "Sweetheart, when ye get to be my age, and you've done the things I've done, seen the things I've seen, ye gotta find light out of everything. Otherwise the issues up here," he paused to knock on the side of his head, "get the best of you."

Moze was shocked by that answer, though she shouldn't have been. Her own demons made her headspace a living hell on the regular. Zane was twice her age and based on all the oversharing about his escapades, his demons were probably worse. She nodded and said, "Hadn't thought of it that way. I kinda get it now." 

She had nothing more to say about it. She wasn't about to rise to Zane's level of oversharing. He had his trauma and decided to unload it on anyone who would listen. She had hers and not just anyone was allowed to hear it. The gunner glanced toward the Ambermire path once more, disappointed to see neither of the other vault hunters headed their way. The pair sat in silence for a minute before Zane spoke again. 

"Oh come on! We just had a breakthrough here and ye can't say more than that?" 

"There's nothing more to say," Moze declared. 

"I'm not askin' for yer life story or anythin', I just wanna be a friend. I know you're hurtin'. Let me help ye where I can."

"I appreciate that," she said, "But I'd rather keep things between me and the team professional." She looked down at her muddied boots in a feeble attempt to avoid eye contact. 

Zane's lips curled into a grin. He stifled laughter as he said, "Oh hoho strictly business are we? Does Amara know that?"

Moze's head snapped back up. "What?"

"Don't play dumb with me, sweetheart." 

Moze continued to play dumb, "Heh. I really don't know what you're talking about! And stop calling me sweetheart!" 

"Why? Is only _Amara_ allowed to call ye that?" Zane teased.

"Shut up! I just told you things between me and the team are _professional_. Amara is part of the team."

Zane cackled, "Oh so the things I heard comin' from her room the other night, that was professional?"

Moze's face turned bright red. "That was. An exercise in stress release. Nothing more."

"Uh-huh. Sure."

"It really was!" Moze whined. She folded her arms, almost pouting.

"Whatever you gotta say to help you sleep at night," Zane said, leaning back up against the frame of the technical. "It's not just that, though. I see the way ye look at her, Moze. You should probably drop the whole 'cold soldier with no attachments' thing 'cause the Tiger's got her claws in you."

"Is it really that obvious?" Moze asked softly. 

Zane nodded, "Painfully so. Even Fl4k noticed and that bucket o' bolts loves to drone on about how confusin' humans are." 

Moze shrank back in her seat a little, feeling defeated. She had tried and failed to get rid of her feelings for Amara, but the siren would not stay off her mind. So she settled for painful pining. It certainly wasn't her first crush on a squadmate, but she thought she was doing a decent job of hiding it. Zane got the feeling he struck a nerve with his teasing. He leaned forward and rested a hand on the gunner's knee. "If it's any consolation," he said, "I have it on good authority the feeling is mutual. But ye didn't hear that from me." 

Moze smacked Zane's hand away. She looked at Zane, then to the path again to make sure the other two vault hunters weren't back then said, "That just makes things more complicated."

"How so?" the operative asked, puzzled. "Why wouldn't that be exactly what ye wanted to hear?"

"I just…" Moze's hands involuntarily balled into fists. She didn't know how exactly to explain it to him without dumping sad backstory everywhere. "I don't wanna get hurt again. I've lost everyone and everything I cared about except for Iron Bear. I don't wanna get attached to anyone new and run the risk of losing them too." Tears that Moze had bottled up for months started to form. "Unfortunately, I got attached. I dunno what's worse. Doing absolutely nothing and hoping it goes away or inevitably getting my heart broken. Or, fuck, breaking her heart. That's like the last thing I want to do but..."

Zane's face softened as he stared at the soldier who was nearly sobbing. "Moze. You can't think like that." He got up and sat next to her on her side of the technical. "Loss is a part of life and it hurts like hell. But ye can't write something off as one before it happens." Moze rested her head on his shoulder and let out a heavy sigh. Zane took that as permission to touch her. He draped his arm across her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. "I know exactly how ye feel. Been there done that. And thinkin' like that makes you hurt worse in the long run. And it won't raise the dead either. Trust me on that." He released his hold on her shoulders and waited for her response. 

Moze bit her lip thinking about her old squadmates. Her dead squadmates. She should've never gone to Darzaran Bay. She should've just taken Iron Bear and gone awol. But what good would that have done? Everyone would've died no matter what. The gunner sat up, taking her bandana off her neck to wipe the tears from her eyes, removing her eye black in the process. She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. "Does it ever _stop_ hurting?"

Zane shook his head, "Can't say it does. But it gets easier. Surroundin' yourself with others rather than pushin' em away helps." 

Somewhat satisfied with that answer, Moze chuckled, "You're just saying that to get me to go drinking with you."

"Am not! Honest! But if you want to, I'm always available. I'm here for ye, lass. So are Amara and Fl4k. Especially Amara." He punctuated the sentence with a wink. He got up from the passenger bench and laid down in the truck bed once more. "Now, I need a bit of shut eye. Wake me up when the other two get back."

"10-4, good buddy," Moze replied with a nod. 

"_Good buddy_?" Zane repeated with exaggerated surprise. "Are we done being strictly business?"

Moze smiled at the operative. "Yeah. I think I am."


End file.
